Colin Povey: “It is a great honour for Edgbaston and fantastic for the city of Birmingham."

Colin Povey talks about exciting times ahead for Warwickshire and Edgbaston

Warwickshire chief executive Colin Povey believes that Edgbaston’s hosting of five ICC Champions Trophy games, including the final, next summer gives the club a “chance to showcase both the city and the stadium.”

Edgbaston will not host an Ashes Test next year, a decision by the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Major Match Group that bitterly diappointed Warwickshire who had just spent £32 million revamping the Pavilion End of the ground.

But instead they have been allocated the pick of the ICC Champions Trophy matches next June.

Spectators visiting the city for those matches are expected to contribute some £12.6 million to Birmingham’s economy.

And
Povey reckons the boost to the city will not just be a matter of generating finance next summer but also of raising its profile, nationally and globally which could lead tofurther investment.

“Next
year’s Champions Trophy will be the first time a final of a major ICC tournament has been staged outside London when the ECB have won the rights to stage such an event,” he said.

“It is a great honour for Edgbaston and fantastic for the city of Birmingham.

“The
£32 million invested in the redevelopment of Edgbaston was intended to ensure we can stage these marquee international matches. So we are delighted that next year’s Champions Trophy gives us a chance to showcase both the City and the stadium.

“Everyone
at Edgbaston is very excited about next summer and we all look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to this great event.”

Tickets
for the tournament will go on sale at 10.30am next Monday. Adult tickets are priced in three categories – gold, silver and family stand –
and range from £20 (for a group game in the family stands) up to £60 (gold ticket for the final).

Tickets for U16s are priced at £5 for the entire tournament (as long as the U16 attends with an adult).

A new pricing structure also sees the introduction of tickets for U21s, priced between £10 and £25.